Neurobiology department breeds this year's medalist

There can be only one presidential medalist. Of the 3,711 students graduating this year, only Rebecca Cappel Hendrickson can boast of the honor.

However, to this humble redhead, boasting may not be on the agenda.

Nominated by a faculty committee, Hendrickson was selected because she "took full advantage of the special opportunities here at the UW," said UW President Richard McCormick.

When she found out about her nomination, she quickly called her mom and close friend in Boston, and they were impressed.

Hendrickson, who is double majoring in neurobiology and biochemistry, is part of the second graduating class from the UW's neurobiology department.

"I've taken advanced classes in a lot of different areas, and I think that's probably why I was selected," said Hendrickson.

Being interested in both the sciences and humanities, Hendrickson discovered that "a neurobiology degree will allow me to use techniques of science to answer a basic question in humanities: why and how people do people act the way that they do," she said.

Hendrickson first heard about the neurobiology department through "rumors," and heard through a friend about the classes he was talking when the program just got started. "I was so jealous, and thought, 'Why don't I take those classes?'" A few hours later, Hendrickson changed her major.

Hendrickson spent a lot of time assisting her mother, Karen, a social worker. Through this experience, she discovered "one of the things that I noticed is that a lot of problems in our society, such as alcoholism and child abuse, are linked to mental illnesses that we are not able to deal with very effectively yet."

Although she states she's "indecisive and non-committal," Hendrickson also worked with the UW's chapter of Amnesty International, and was a student area coordinator on campus. Besides the sciences, which she feels "can explain everything and makes sense out of things," Hendrickson enjoys dabbling in philosophy.

Praise from teachers and other faculty members, and other awards she's earned, paint a much more flattering picture.

"I think that there will be two or three people in the next 30 years who finally put most of the pieces together about the nature of mind and consciousness; Rebecca has a serious shot at being one of them," said Stephen Glasier, a UW philosophy professor who has worked closely with Hendrickson.

During her time at the UW, Hendrickson was nominated twice for the Sen. Barry Goldwater scholarship, an award funded by Congress for which only four students from each university get nominated. She spent most of her summers working in research labs, working closely with professors studying organic-metallic chemistry and how information is processed in the brain.

Despite her rigorous course load, Hendrickson insists that her life as a UW student at the UW has not been abnormal.

"Although when a friend told me that she insists on getting eight hours of sleep a night, I remember thinking, 'How does she do that? How can you possibly have time to sleep that much?'" Hendrickson said.

Hendrickson plans to continue her studies in neurobiology at Washington University in St. Louis, and hopes to make medical breakthroughs in the field.

"One of my goals in working with neurobiology is that I could do something to help find more effective treatments for things like schizophrenia," said Hendrickson. "When I finally get out of school in about 20 million years, I would hope to do research part-time, and work with patients."